By Michelle Sandlin

Published 11:16 am, Friday, October 25, 2013

As a veteran of the real estate and relocation business, Patricia Ann Pollard, vice president, Relocation and Business Development, for Coldwell Banker United, Realtors, has seen it all.

She runs a very successful relocation department, and continues to call on her past experiences, which give her a unique perspective for connecting and empathizing with transferees and their families.

I recently visited with Pollard, who candidly shared her insight with me. Here are the highlights of our conversation.

MS: How did you get your start in relocation?

PP: In 1980, I got my real estate license and sold real estate from 1980 to 1985. In 1985 I heard about an opportunity on the third-party relocation management side at a company called the Relocation Center in Irving-Las Colinas.

I was real fortunate to be on the team that did the original Exxon Mobil group move from New York when they moved to Irving-Las Colinas.

MS: How has it helped you in what you do now to have been both an agent and had the experience of working at a relocation company?

PP: I'm a real believer that whatever we do in life can be a real stepping-stone to what lies ahead, and truly every job I have ever had has helped me be better at what I am doing now.

MS: Did you choose relocation or did relocation choose you?

PP: I think relocation was the silver lining in my real estate career, because we had moved so much when I was growing up and because I really had empathy for people and what they go through, especially children when they are uprooted. When I started learning more about the relocation aspect, it just hooked me and I can't imagine doing anything different.

MS: What have been some of the most significant changes that have resulted from Houston's current real estate market?

PP: We have gone from famine to feast so quickly, that the challenge is educating the agents on how to react to the market, and educating the consumers on what they need to do to prepare to come into a market like this, because the tactics that they may have used the last time they bought a house no longer work. They have to take a different approach and be prepared to act quickly.

MS: What are the current challenges for you as a relocation director?

PP: When you are in a market like this and there is so much corporate relocation, we have to be careful not to depend on one or two agents so much that their livelihood depends on corporate relocation.

We still need to give them the time to continue with their own retail business. That needs to be their bread and the butter. Relocation needs to be their whipped cream and cherry.

MS: What does your crystal ball say about 2014?

PP: I think 2014 will be steady, and a fairly dependable market. I'm very excited about the new construction that is coming down the pike. Many corporate transferees tend to gravitate to the newer neighborhoods, because they know that they will probably be moving again in the next three or four years.

MS: Why do you think now is a great time to be in Houston?

PP: It's the perfect mix of available inventory to accommodate most needs, and low enough interest rates that most people can afford to purchase. We're on the move.

It's an exciting time to be in Houston because it is trending up right now. Houston is such a unique animal to other cities in Texas because it's exciting to be in Houston even when the market is down, because it's just so vibrant and there is always something interesting going on.

Now more than ever, it's a great time to come here, not just because of lifestyle and price range opportunities, but we are truly now anticipating some appreciation opportunities and we haven't really been able to predict that before.

MS: Do you have any closing comments?

PP: Anybody in relocation, especially in a relocation director's chair, is only as good as the people on their team, and I am so very blessed to have the dedication that I have on my team.

They are so invested in performance and in meeting the needs of the transferees. We are not just shuffling paper; we are influencing lives, and that is a huge responsibility.